University appoints first Deputy Vice-Chancellor (People and Community)

Professor Pip Nicholson
Professor Pip Nicholson will work across the University in her new role as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (People and Community).

The University of Melbourne has appointed Professor Pip Nicholson to the role of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (People and Community) and Deputy Provost.

This appointment is a huge opportunity for the University to realise and amplify its commitments on many of the issues of most concern to our community of students and staff.

Reporting to the Provost and working across the breadth of the University, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (People and Community) will provide focused leadership and direction for the ‘Community’ pillar of Advancing Melbourne.

University of Melbourne Provost, Professor Nicola Phillips, congratulated Professor Nicholson on her appointment and conveyed her excitement about the opportunities it creates.

“Professor Nicholson will contribute leadership in building our university community and institutional culture encompassing both students and staff, and stitching together our people and academic strategies,” Professor Phillips said.

“Some of her most immediate priorities will include addressing casualisation, advancing our diversity and inclusion work in all its dimensions, and bolstering leadership on sexual misconduct and Respect at Melbourne.

“Professor Nicholson’s leadership will be vital in creating an exceptional environment that attracts, supports and retains the most talented students and staff, and amplifies our commitment to diversity and inclusion as a bedrock for our university community.”

Professor Nicholson has served as Dean of the Melbourne Law School since 2018 and previously served as the Director of the Asian Law Centre. A former barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria and the High Court of Australia, Professor Nicholson’s professional experience spans commercial lawyering, legal aid and international consultancy, with a focus on development aid in Asia.

She has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to the University of Melbourne community, having served as Vice-President and Deputy Vice-President of Academic Board between 2015 and 2017 and Chair of the Respect Taskforce in 2019.

For over 20 years, Professor Nicholson’s research and teaching has focussed on the Vietnamese legal system and comparative approaches to development aid.

Professor Nicholson will commence in the role on 26 April 2022.